Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor (6 June 1963-) was a member of the US House of Representatives (R-VA 7) from 3 January 2001 to 18 August 2014, succeeding Thomas Bliley and preceding Dave Brat. He also served as House Majority Leader from 3 January 2011 to 1 August 2014 (succeeding Steny Hoyer and preceding Kevin McCarthy), and he became the first House Majority Leader to be ousted from power when he lost the Republican congressional primary to Dave Brat in 2014; he resigned early from both positions.

Biography
Eric Cantor was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1963 to a Conservative Jewish family, the son of the state treasurer for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. He worked as an intern and driver for Congressman Thomas Bliley, as a real estate developer, and as a member of the House of Delegates from 1992 to 2001, when he succeeded his mentor in the US House of Representatives. He rose to become House Republican Chief Deputy Whip in 2003, House Minority Whip in 2009, and House Majority Leader in 2011, becoming the highest-ranking Jewish member of the US Congress in its history, and the only non-Christian Republican in either congressional body. In 2014, he lost the congressional primary to Dave Brat in an upset, and Cantor resigned early as House Majority Leader and as congressman, becoming the vice chairman of an investment bank.